A number of chemical elements which are familiar to much have very amusing story of opening and application at the beginning. Part of them is connected with banal ignorance, and a part with unique properties, as in a case with phosphorus.
In 1669 the alchemist Hennig Brand from Hamburg discovered the shining substance - phosphorus. Brand made the experiments with human urine, he assumed that it contains gold parts because of its yellow color. He waited until urine settles in barrels, then evaporated it, subjected distillation liquid. Later, having connected this substance to sand and coal without air, he received a certain white dust which had property to glow in the dark. He began to sell phosphorus to people, and then sold a confidential formula of phosphorus to the chemist Kraft at all.
It shines!
Having considered chemical properties of phosphorus, it is possible to understand why it shines in the absence of light. Distinguish three types of phosphorus: - white,
- black, - red.
White phosphorus is colourless and very poisonous, it is not dissolved in water, but can be dissolved in carbon sulfur. If long to heat white phosphorus on weak fire, it passes into the following look – red which is not poisonous, and by sight represents powder of a red-brown shade.
Chemistry and only
Phosphorus black differs from the previous two types in both texture, and color, and properties. It is more similar to graphite and has fat texture. This view from white phosphorus only under huge pressure turns out at a temperature about 200 degrees.
Phosphorus is a nitrogen analog, but in comparison with atom of the last, atom of phosphorus has smaller energy of ionization.
Not enough time is required to white phosphorus to react with oxygen and to be oxidized. It is dangerous because of ability to self-ignite on air for this reason it should be stored in water. Because of reaction of oxidation a number of energy is distinguished, in other words, phosphorus begins to shine. Physicists in this case speaks about transition of chemical energy to light. In the nature phosphorus meets only in the form of connections, the most important such connection is calcium phosphate – in the nature mineral apatite. Types of apatite make sedimentary rocks, so-called phosphorites. Phosphorus is the substance necessary in activity of plants therefore it has to be held in the soil quite a lot. Siberia, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Belarus possess the richest deposits of phosphorites, they are available also in the territory of the USA, North Africa and Syria.
To a word...
White phosphorus is actively used by military. However its striking force is so big and dangerous, and human sufferings are so big that a number of the countries made the decision on restriction of use of this substance.
Couples centuries ago phosphorus directed horror at people who had imprudence to pass in dark time by cemeteries. People told as if they saw how souls recently deceased leave the earth in the form of the shining balls. Actually, it in the course of disintegration of bones was released the described substance. The easy stream of light easily overcame a small layer of the earth and broke loose.